August MR250 Bluetooth Audio Transmitter – Review

I heard about the upcoming Bluetooth audio transmitter from August when I purchased my August Ep650 Bluetooth headphones. On the off-chance that I’d be able to get one from August to review, I fired off an email linking to my review of the EP650’s and asked if August would mind sending me one to review when it was released. In the middle of July I received an email from August requesting my address to send me one for review. Low and behold, 18 hours later, I have in my hands the new (very diminutive) August MR250 Bluetooth Audio Transmitter.

The MR250 comes in White (MR250W) or Black (MR250B). The model used for this review is the White version, available from Amazon (at time of the review) for a mere £10.

The first impression I got when I picked up the Jiffy Bag containing the product, was how small and light it was. Indeed it felt like there was almost nothing in it. Opening the package revealed a small blue and white box. Indeed far smaller than I would have expected.

Unboxing

Inside the box is the MR250 Bluetooth Audio Transmitter, a 3.5mm-to-3.5mm audio cable, a USB power cable, and a user guide.

The MR250 itself is a remarkably simple product. Essentially a white (or black) acrylic box with a power switch on the left, three status LED’s and a button on the front, and a power connector and 3.5mm audio-in connector on the right.

Just touching on the size again – It is Tiny! Below are a a few photos showing off its dimensions as well as a size comparison to my (slightly grubby) iPhone 5s.

vs Other Bluetooth Transmitters

I’m a big fan of the Avantree Saturn BTTC-200X Bluetooth 3.0 Audio Transmitter / Receiver. The only problem it has is the inability to pair with my August EP650’s, which is strange given that both devices use standard Bluetooth. It has one other drawback which is the cost – it is £29, compared to the August MR250 which comes in at a very small £10! Size wise, the MR250 is a touch bigger than its competitors.

August MR250 vs Avantree Saturn vs Generic Transmitter

Here it is next to the Avantree Saturn (currently charging via USB) and a generic Bluetooth 2.1 transmitter by a company called TauTronics.

Sound quality on all three is excellent. Honestly, I can’t tell between them! Looks wise, I personally think the Avantree looks the best, plus it has the best build quality.

Build Quality

The build quality of the MR250 is certainly not on par with that of the excellent EP650 Bluetooth Headphones. That said, it is not a bad build by any means! For something that is this size and for its functionality, it is perfectly fine! It simply does not have the premium feel of the EP650’s. When it comes to audio quality, I have absolutely no issues at all. It is as you would expect from any Bluetooth Audio Transmitter – excellent. Range is good and at no point when using it in an average sized room did I experience breakup or drop-out. I was perfectly happy with the quality of the audio that the transmitter sent to my headphones and to my car.

Using the MR250

Operation of the MR250 is simple. The power switch on the side does what it says on the tin. On the front of the MR250 there are three LED”s and a single button. Once you switch on the device the right LED will glow blue to indicate it is switched on. This does not make the unit operational, but simply puts it into Standby Mode. To switch it to Operating Mode, press and hold the button for 4 seconds, or until the left blue LED flashes blue. This will reconnect the MR250 to the last paired device. You can disable Operating Mode and return the unit to Standby Mode by pressing and holding the middle button for 1 second. The Middle Red LED will flash red once and the left blue LED will cease flashing. At this point only the power LED will remain lit. To enter the MR250 into Pairing Mode, hold down the button for 8 seconds. The MR250 will automatically pair to any audio receiver within range. You can exit pairing mode without pairing to a new device by pressing the button for 1 second, returning the device to Standby Mode.

The MR250 includes a built-in battery for power-free operation. Included in the box is a small USB-to-Power cable that will allow you to power the MR250 from any USB port or USB power adapter. This could be very useful if you want to use the MR250 with a TV, as most TV’s now include USB ports on the rear.

Conclusion

The MR250 represents another brilliant bargain from August International. it is the perfect companion for the August EP650’s or other Bluetooth Headphones. It’s size and weight are perfect for using in conjunction with a TV or amplifier, with its USB power input being perfect for power from the inbuilt port on your TV / AV gear, or from any low-cost power to USB adapter. The MR250’s inbuilt battery also makes it the perfect device for use when away from power sources – it could be connected to a Radio Receiver such as an AirBand scanner, so you can use the device with Bluetooth Headphones. Its USB Power input also makes it perfect for running from a car USB port or 12v adapter USB port.

While the MR250 doesn’t get the same ringing endorsement as the EP650’s get, I would still highly recommend this little product, especially when considering its extremely low price-point of only £10 (at time of review – from Amazon)

Questions

Q: Is there any delay when using the MR250 to watch movies or play games?A: There is absolutely no delay that I can detect, however when listening to two sources simultaneously side-by-side, they do come across slightly out of sync.

Q: Does the MR250 support multiple simultaneous bluetooth connections?A: No – Only one connection at a time. Additionally it can only remember one connection – if you want to pair it with multiple devices you must pair it to each device when you want to use it

Q: Is a case included with the MR250?A: No, however if you have the August EP-650 Bluetooth Headphones, it fits perfectly into the case you can get for them, along with the headphones

Q: Will the MR250 pair with a car bluetooth audio receiver?A: Yes – I have successfully tested this with the BMW ConnectedDrive platform in my 2011 BMW X1.

Links

Purchase August MR250’s from Amazon UK

Like the review?

If you liked (or even didnt like) this review, or even just have an opinion or thought, then drop your thoughts into the comment box below and hit submit. I try to respond to every comment, and the more comments the more useful this review becomes.

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Disclaimer

Gallery shots of the MR250 are courtesy of August International

This review is not sponsored or commissioned by August International or any of their affiliated companies.

17 Replies to “August MR250 Bluetooth Audio Transmitter – Review”

Thanks for your excellent review which I found while doing a search for into on the MR250. I’m in the US, and although the MR250 is on the Amazon website here, there’s only one user review. It contains just four words and isn’t helpful. Your review has persuaded me that this unit fully provides what I want. I’ll order it from Amazon US. Thanks again.

My mom’s husband is hard of hearing. If he is using this transmitter with a wireless headset so he can hear better, can the rest of us in the room still hear the TV through the TV speakers? Thanks for the review and answering questions! I’m in the US, so must buy through Amazon US.
Happy Holidays!

If it was plugged into the headphone jack then unfortunately not – all the audio would be diverted through to the Bluetooth Transmitter. Sometimes there is an audio output on the back of the TV that you might be able to plug into – it would look like a pair of red/white plugs. If it does exist, you can sometimes set the TV to output through the internal speakers and through the other output simultaneously.
Alternatively you’ll have to run the audio into an external Audio/Visual amplifier that allows for multiple simultaneous outputs.
I’m glad you liked the review. Thank you for your feedback and question!

As an ‘old boy’ I am hard of hearing too and I would like to have my wife hear the TV speakers whilst I listen on my August bluetooth headphones. But I am having great trouble finding out how this can be done after trolling the net for a week or so. I keep getting told that it cannot be done. Is this right?

I’m afraid I don’t know of any easy method to do this. It might be possible on certain makes of TV. The easiest way to do it that I know of would be to capture the audio from a digital out port, convert it to analog, then attach a Bluetooth transmitter to that to use the headphones. Some TVs only let you have audio going out through the digital out or the onboard speakers, not both. I think it might even be a limitation on the HDMI HDCP specification, but I could be wrong.

Some AV amplifiers can route audio to multiple sources though I believe, though I’m unsure of how you could do this unless you use a pre-out port on the amp

Hi Tristan…Thanks for the help. I’m afraid what you told is completly over my head as I do not have the least idea about electronics. But I know a man who does…!! My cousin is very adept at this sort of thing and is well into atatching one bit to other in that field being a radio ham so I’m going to get him to help me. Don’t know why I never thought of it before but I do appreciate your help. I’ll let you know how I get on and fill you in on the facts.
Les

Hi Tristan………Thanks for the input and I have been in touch with my cousin and he tells me that the easiest way for me to go is buy a soundbar for my TV and use the Bluetooth on that. Now to save my pennies and get one. I’ll keep you posted some time in the future. Thanks again for all your help.
Les

Hi Les
I hope the Sound bar option works – Its not something I’ve ever tried but I would be interested to hear how you get on with it.
I might have found another method of getting this to work using an Audio-Visual Amplifier. If you plug a Bluetooth transmitter such as the MR250 into the Audio Pre-Out socket, it ‘should’ transmit the raw stereo audio. I’ve got a pre-out on two of my amps but in the very brief time I tried to play with it last night I couldn’t get it to work. I’ll give it another go when I have some more time, as its something I’d be interested in getting working too.

Thanks for the great review – really helpful. Please can you tell me how this transmitter syncs to the August headphones when neither seem to have readable displays – how can you locate and select the correct Bluetooth device to connect to?

Ok, all sounds pretty straightforward! But what happens if the headphones wants to pair with a different device it detects; is there a way to keep scrolling along until it finds the transmitter? Am asking because there are lots of detectable Bluetooth devices in my neighbourhood that aren’t mine! Thanks so much for the advice.

Just make sure the devices are close by. Remember they’re Bluetooth – not 802.11 – range is limited to 10m. Also the pairing mode these use is (i believe) designed for audio devices to pair so unless someone else has an audio device pairing at the exact same moment you do (and is within 10m)…
You’ll be fine 🙂

Great review.I have recently purchased the MR 250 B.Question.Can I use the audio out connections on my T.V with cables which have a 3.5mm jack at the end instead of the headphone jack on my T.V.using the supplied cable.?Thanks Mike

Hi there. I’m afraid I’m only familiar with the August MR250 Bluetooth transmitter and the August EP650 Bluetooth headphones. In this case (if memory serves), power on both devices. on the MR250 hold down the button until the blue and orange lights flash alternately. It is now in pairing mode. At this point hold down the Volume UP and Volume Down buttons on the EP650’s to put those into pairing mode. The EP650’s will connect to the closest Bluetooth device that is also in pairing mode. If you’ve previously paired them to a mobile phone or computer that is nearby, I’d suggest turning Bluetooth off on that device just in case it tries to reconnect and pairs to the wrong thing.

Once the pairing is complete, the MR250 has two operating modes. If the blue light is constant then it is in standby mode. If you press the button for about a second (or two) it goes into transmitting mode, where the blue light will flash.